The real estate sector is one of the most flourishing sectors in the economy. Though the industry has been hit by a dip in fortunes, many of its practitioners have held their own. And one of such men who have held their own pretty well in the industry is Engineer Olayiwola Taylor. He has been in construction for a while now. He started in 2010 and has done very well for himself eversince. Engineer Olayiwola Taylor is the MD/CEO of Stone Gate Golden Heritage Ltd. The company has handled high profile jobs for several universities and other higher institutions of learning. Engineer Olayiwola Taylor is an extremely hardworking man who does not compromise on quality when handlng projects. And his clients know this about him. They know he is a man whose integrity you can vouch for.
Two Sundays ago, at the City People Excellence Awards held at the Lagos Country Club, GRA, Lagos, Engineer Olayiwola was honoured by City People for his remarkable contributions to the Real Estate sector. Shortly after he picked up his award, he spoke with City People’s Senior Editor, WALE LAWAL (08037209290) and shared with him the qualities that have enabled him to last long and stand out in the industry. Enjoy excerpts of the interview.
Tell us, sir, how do you feel about this recognition award you just received from City People?
Like I said moments ago while receiving the award, I thank God for the recognition. We should always give God thanks and give him the credit when good things like this happen to us. We must thank him for giving us the grace to do the things we have been able to achieve in life, so I give him all the glory. I thank God for my wife and children. In fact, I must say I dedicate the award to my children because they always encourage me. When I got the call from Dr. Seye Kehinde that they want to honour me with an award of Excellence, I just looked at myself and said, well, God has given me the grace for people to recognise my work. All of my hard work are really beginning to get recognised because, already this year alone, I have received about three or four awards. This will encourage me to work even harder. Most of the projects that we do are government projects and always, my priority has been my integrity, not profit. Maintaining my integrity is paramount to me and all my staff know this too.
Most of the jobs I get are through referrals. A lot of people, recommend me to others, a lot of the jobs I get were through referrals. I am not a politician but I am very relevant and respected in my field, how? It’s through referrals. I work for institutions. I build schools. I build infrastructures in higher institutions, that’s what I do mostly. You know, for somebody that’s not a politician, the Rectors, the VCs, they always get in touch with me. It is because of the quality job I’m doing because somebody somewhere will say to a prospective client, go and talk to Engineer Taylor, he will not disappoint you. He will deliver and stick to the standards. That’s why every time we are on site, I am always drumming it in the ears of my team, no compromise on quality. Even when my staff are complaining, “sir, the prices of these materials are too high, they will eat into our profit,” I tell them, we must not compromise on quality for any reason. There have been several times I hve had to spend my personal funds on projects just for us to make sure that we keep the high standard that we are known for. Once again, I thank God for everything. I thank my wife and children, they will soon join us here very soon, they are on their way.
Give us the full names of your rel estate outfit.
It’s called Stone Gate Golden Heritage Ltd.
When did you set it up?
We have been in construction since 2010. What I mean is we grew into real estate in 2010 but we have been existing before that time.
How is the business like today, compared to those early years when you started?
Well, like I said, the beginning of anything is always very rough, but with God’s grace and a lot of perseverance, we have been able to keep pushing and we thank God for where he has taken us to.
How are you coping with inflation, the exchange rate and the state of the economy as a whole, how has it affected your sector?
It has not been easy, I must be frank with you. Even now that the prices of building materials have all gone up, we just have to keep pushing, we can’t stop what we’re doing. There have been times I have gone to my clients to explain about these things to them. They too have often said to me, Engineer, don’t worry, we can see things for ourselves, we will do our best to support you. And that has been the case for some time now. I remember some people came from Abuja to inspect a project, it is a federal government project, and they were like, how were you able to achieve this during a period like this? And I told them that everything is not about making profit but about making name, a very good name and integrity. And I believe that’s what’s speaking for us today. So, that’s how we’ve been coping. We manage the situation, we balance it up, deliver quality job and the clients, satisfied, tell us they will support us. One of the ways they help us, especially with the government jobs, is that they give us another project to do as compensation.
Finally, sir, share with us, what are the three things you will say have helped you stay in business since 2010?
Like I have always maintained, God comes first. Number two is integrity and number three is quality job. When you’re doing quality jobs, you deliver on time, and you serve God, you can’t go wrong. Those are the three major things that have kept me in business, I will be very honest with you.
